Cait Sith breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't see
Meteor in the sky, which gave him a hint as to when exactly he and the Maverick
Hunters had been transported. Looking arond, Cait noticed the Tiny Bronco in the
distance, parked on a riverbank. Obviously Avalanche was in the vicinity. But
where? Using his robotic brain, Cait deduced that they must be in either Gongaga
or the Gold Saucer. He hoped he was right.

Zero finished the head count. There were nine hunters
and one ancient robot. He noticed everyone else engaging in small talk;
something he never liked to do. Blazing Lion was with two of his
"Justifiers"; Proton and Airblaster. Slash looked like he was giving
pointers to Turbine, a rookie. X was standing not too far away, seemingly taking
in the atmosphere. The Auroran Flash was talking with the only other huntress in
the area; a new recruit by the name of Pulse. Her armor, a collage of red and
blue, reminded him of Iris. Lowering his head slightly, Zero remembered holding
her as she took her last breath. Shaking off the feeling of sorrow as he usually
did, Zero decided to concentrate on the task at hand; getting home.

"Hey cat! Do you know how we got here?" Zero
asked Cait Sith.

Cait was startled by hearing that nickname. Barret had
called him that.

"Oh...Zero. I don't know. We all fell into the
lifestream, so maybe it's the planet's doin'." Cait replied.

Zero half-believed him. There was no rational solution
to this problem. Who knows what's beyond science?

"Are you suggesting the planet wanted us to go
back through time?" Zero said.

"It's possible. But first, we gotta find my
friends. They're either it th' Gold Saucer or in th' town of Gongaga, over that
way." Cait said, pointing south.

"Agreed. I'll take four of us and head towards the
town. You take the other four to that big, golden thingy." Zero said.

"Allrighty then. We'll meet up again in four days,
by the river. And it's the Gold SAUCER."

Zero smirked as he rounded up his "party".
Turbine and Pulse were ready to go, but Aurie insisted that X come with them as
well. Slash, along with the three Justifiers, went with Cait. Everyone said
their goodbyes as the sun began to set.

******************

Sigma awoke with a big headache. It was no matter,
though. Pain was nothing to him. Standing up, Sigma immidiately tried to figure
out where he was. He was obviously standing in a giant crater of some kind.
Swirling around him were greenish winds, constantly changing speed. Sigma
wondered if his vision was damaged as well. Everything about the place was
unrecognizable to him. Sigma ran a diagnostic on himself, and determined that
all of his non-essential systems were down. He was nearly powerless. At least
those pesky maverick hunters were nowhere to be seen.

"Sigma to base."

Nothing but static.

"Base, come in."

Still nothing. The telecom must have been knocked out,
too. It looked like Sigma was going to have to walk for a change. But then
something caught his eye. There was a bright light eminating from the center. He
expected to see some lonely scientist's shack, from the likes of which he could
steal supplies. Howver, as he got closer he could see no electronic devices of
any kind anywhere. Sigma began to get curious. When he finally reached the
center, he was overcome with a sense of disappointment. A dead end. The light
source was merely a reflection bouncing off some kind of blue-tinted amber. It
couldn't be ice; the air was too warm. Investigating further, the leader of the
mavericks spotted a man encased in the amber right above him. Sigma usually
scoffed at the mere sight of humans, but this one interested him. He could
almost feel the power eminating from the crystalized cocoon. Suddenly, a replica
of the man materializeed in front of him. It wielded a long, sleek-looking
sword. It's silver hair shimmered in the light, which contrasted with the black
outfit it wore. It spoke with a chilling tone that intrigued Sigma.

"You have no spirit energy within you." It
said.

Sigma raised an eyebrow. Spirit energy? There was
something familiar about that word. Where had he heard it before?

"You are a unique one. Tell me, how did you come
into being?" the man asked.

"I refuse to answer a question coming from a
human." Sigma said smugly.

Instead of the look of disappointment Sigma had come to
expect, the man laughed. An evil smile crept up onto the man's face.

"I am not human. I am superior to humans. I am
superior to all living things."

"Is that so?" Sigma said.

"Yes. When the time is right, I will summon Meteor
and destroy this miserable planet. All the spirit energy will be mine. I will
meld with it and become a new life form. A God."

Sigma had always believed that reploids were the
perfect race. This fool was telling him otherwise. He didn't know what this
buffoon was talking about, and at this point he really didn't give a damn
either. Even without his beam sabre, Sigma was confident enough to beieve that
he could take down this whelp in minutes.

"Listen to me, you wretched human. Reploids are by
far the superior race here. Don't even begin to think otherwise or I'll shove
your head so far up your ass you'll be able to see your own heart stop."
Sigma said with glee. He enjoyed denouncing humans.

The man laughed again, but this time there was
something uneasy about it.

"Stop calling me something I am not. I am as far
beyond humans as they are beyond pond scum. My name is Sephiroth. Remember it
for as long as you are alive; which won't be very long."

Sigma had enough. He grabbed Sephiroth by the neck and
lifted him up several feet in the air. Sephiroth's expression did not waiver one
bit. Instead, he retaliated by slashing his Masamune across Sigma's chest
quickly and methodically. The sudden surge of pain caused Sigma to lose his
grip. Sephiroth landed in a one-legged kneeling position, while Sigma staggered
back in shock. each "man" stared at the other, thinking a similar
thought.

Sigma was more powerful than he looked. A sword that
could cut stone as easily as it could butter had merely scratched the surface of
his armor. Indeed, he was unique.

Sigma studied the man once more. The sword must have
been made out of Diamandium. But where did he get it? Diamandium was rare. The
metals it required were hard to find, and the exact smelting process was tricky.
Few humans had even heard of the material.

"So..." Sigma began. "You must hate
humans."

"Not so much. They are merely...annoying. Once I
eradicate them, I will rule over what's left. I trust you feel the same?
Sephiroth asked.

"Yes, I do indeed." Sigma replied. "I
have a proposition for you, Sephiroth. Since we have a common goal, I suggest we
join forces to rid the planet of it's vilest vermin."

Sephiroth pondered this for a moment. His ultimate goal
was to become a god. Nothng else mattered. But he needed the black materia to
summon Meteor, and he couldn't get it by himself. This soulless thing offered to
help. Why would he turn it down?